Guy is currently in transit from Venice (where, once again, he offered some bang-up coverage throughout — much appreciated). I’ll let him address the bulk of this when he touches down, but for now, a big win out of the festival for “Shame” in Michael Fassbender’s Volpi Cup victory. In accepting the award, Fassbender tipped his hat to actor Gary Oldman (whose “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” was at the fest), remarking, “I’ve followed him since I was 14 years old.”
Festival jury head Darren Aronofsky called this year’s crop of Venice selections “exhilarating and maddening” for the very same reason: it was a quality bunch, and whittling things down for today’s festivities was, naturally, a chore. “We have so many worthy films and so few prizes to give,” he said, before adding, “International cinema is alive and well.” And indeed, Venice’s line-up seems to get more and more impressive each year. As it should for the world’s oldest film festival.